Trump and the law

How the SAVE bill will disenfranchise many Americans

NY Times -    A federal judge in Washington threw a major roadblock into a criminal investigation of Jerome H. Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, quashing grand jury subpoenas issued to the central bank by federal prosecutors over renovations underway at its headquarters in Washington.

In a blistering 27-page decision unsealed on Friday, the judge, James E. Boasberg, derided the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, led by the Trump loyalist Jeanine Pirro, for pursuing a case against Mr. Powell when it appeared that its only reason to do so was President Trump’s desire to seek vengeance against him. Mr. Powell has long resisted calls from the White House to significantly lower borrowing costs, prompting a litany of attacks that has extended to the president’s effort to fire another top official, Lisa D. Cook.

“There is abundant evidence that the subpoenas’ dominant (if not sole) purpose is to harass and pressure Powell either to yield to the president or to resign and make way for a Fed chair who will,” Judge Boasberg wrote.

He continued, “On the other side of the scale, the government has offered no evidence whatsoever that Powell committed any crime other than displeasing the president.”